CDU on transport

The CDU wants to invest in the infrastructure of the Hamburg metropolitan region and sharply shorten planning and permitting procedures. It cites long delays in projects such as the Köhlbrand bridge, the A26-Ost highway and the Hamburg–Hanover rail line.

Big building projects take a very long time in Hamburg. The CDU wants planning and permits to go faster. For this, processes should become digital. Hamburg should work more closely with its neighbors.

The goal is a metro region where connected regional centers can be reached within 30 minutes. Procedures are to be digitalized and automated where possible; at the federal level the CDU wants to push for the necessary legal changes. For building permits, outside service providers would take over internal administrative tasks. The Fehmarnbelt crossing should be used to build up Hamburg as a rail hub between Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Berlin. The CDU wants closer cooperation with neighboring states and counties on commercial land and transport planning, and a coordinated position among the five northern German states on federal transport planning. It also plans an airport economic region made up of Eimsbüttel, Nord and the counties of Pinneberg and Segeberg.

The CDU announces a fundamental turnaround in Hamburg's transport policy: all modes of transport should stand side by side on equal terms, and everyone should choose how to get around. It regards the current policy of the SPD and Greens as one-sided and as a cause of congestion and parking shortages.

The CDU wants to change transport policy in Hamburg a lot. Cars, buses, trains, bikes and walking should matter equally. Everyone should decide for themselves how to travel. The CDU wants to offer options, not bans.

The CDU describes mobility as a basic need and a precondition for participation in society and for the economy. It criticizes traffic jams, poorly coordinated construction sites, the removal of more than 4,000 parking spaces in five years while more cars were registered, and late buses and trains. It also objects to the condition of many sidewalks and bike paths and to bike lanes on the roadway. As an alternative, it proposes what it considers a fair mix of transport modes without favoring particular groups.

The CDU commits to the car as a means of individual mobility and for commercial traffic. It wants to repair and expand roads, provide enough parking, and rejects blanket bans on particular types of engine.

The CDU wants cars to have a future in Hamburg. The party says many people need a car. It wants to repair and expand roads. It does not want a ban on certain engines.

The platform argues that many people in Hamburg depend on a car or want to use one. Especially in the outer districts, it says, there is not a workable alternative for every route and time of day. The CDU promises to repair and expand infrastructure and to provide enough parking. It rejects both disadvantaging drivers in traffic and a general ban on individual engine technologies.

The CDU wants to cut congestion by coordinating roadworks better, drawing up a new general traffic plan, and equipping roads with an intelligent traffic management system. Traffic lights are to respond to traffic volumes so that synchronized green phases work.

The CDU wants fewer traffic jams in Hamburg. It wants to plan roadworks better. Traffic lights should detect traffic and switch more smartly. Some intersections should get roundabouts instead of lights.

Coordination between district offices, the state road agency LSBG, the road traffic authority, and utility companies is to improve. Before any construction project, the effects on traffic are to be made public; residents and businesses are to be informed automatically and digitally about roadworks and detours. The plan includes traffic lights that communicate with vehicles and lights with countdown displays. A roundabout program would check at new and existing intersections whether a roundabout works better than a light. A new program for green right-turn arrows for drivers and cyclists is also planned.

The CDU wants to carry out major projects such as the A26-Ost highway and the Köhlbrand crossing and to lobby the federal government for funding. It also backs bypass routes around Hamburg and wants to repair roads and bridges.

The CDU wants to build new highways. These include the A26-Ost and a new Köhlbrand crossing. The federal government should pay for them. The party also wants to repair broken roads and bridges.

To keep through traffic out of the city, the CDU supports extending the A20 from Bad Segeberg to the A1, including an Elbe crossing near Glückstadt, and completing the A21 as an eastern bypass down to the A39 near Lüneburg. Hamburg's road network of just under 4,000 kilometers of roadway is to be maintained. Construction sites are to run in multiple shifts more often, with financial incentives for early completion. City construction contracts are to be spread more evenly across the year so that roadworks do not pile up in the second half. The platform names the repair of dilapidated bridges as a major task for the coming years.

The CDU wants to concentrate traffic on high-capacity main roads and relieve residential streets. Main roads would generally have a 50 km/h limit, while residential streets and areas near sensitive facilities would have 30 km/h.

The CDU wants to gather traffic on the big roads. Drivers should be allowed to go 50 km/h there. Residential streets and areas near schools should have a 30 km/h limit. Big roads should not lose any lanes.

On especially wide arterial roads, the CDU wants to post a 60 km/h limit in individual cases. A 30 km/h limit is to apply near schools, daycare centers, facilities for seniors, and social institutions, as well as on residential streets. No lanes are to be removed on heavily used main roads so that commuters and commercial traffic can move well.

The CDU wants to increase road safety with more checks, traffic education, and safe routes to school. It points to rising accident numbers that it says particularly affect cyclists and pedestrians.

Hamburg has more and more accidents. So the CDU wants more traffic checks. Routes to school should become safer. The city should clear ice and snow from paths in winter.

Checks are to target speeders and tailgaters and take place mainly near daycare centers, schools, senior homes, and accident hotspots. The CDU plans a school route safety concept for every district and every school, including drop-off zones for parents who drive their children. A state bonus for Hamburg businesses would support retrofitting older trucks with turning assistance systems. The city cleaning service is to get more staff and equipment to clear paths in winter and remove leaves in fall. Signage is to be clearly understandable at construction sites too.

The CDU wants to stop the removal of parking spaces, take out bollards, and build neighborhood garages. Resident parking zones are to be reviewed, and tradespeople would get their own parking permit.

The CDU wants more parking spaces in Hamburg. It wants to remove bollards and build garages for neighborhoods. It wants to review resident parking zones. Tradespeople should get their own parking permit.

According to the platform, more than 4,000 designated parking spaces have been lost in the current legislative term. The CDU wants to reverse changed parking rules where suitable and check where new spaces are possible. Neighborhood garages are to be built in densely populated areas, freeing street space for sidewalks, bike lanes, and greenery; the party will examine whether they can also serve as shelters. It rejects rules that limit parking spaces in new buildings and wants supermarket lots opened to residents outside business hours. For resident parking, paperwork is to be reduced, a tradesperson permit modeled on Cologne's introduced, and critical infrastructure workers given exemptions.

The CDU wants to expand public transit and make it safe, affordable, reliable, and clean. It plans new and extended U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines, more frequent service, and free passes for apprentices.

The CDU wants more buses and trains in Hamburg. New subway and commuter rail lines should be built. Trains should run more often and be cleaner. Apprentices should ride for free.

The party wants to advance the U5, the extension of the U4 to Harburg and the U1 to Ulzburg-Süd, as well as the S4, the S5 to Kaltenkirchen, the S6 to Osdorfer Born, and the reactivation of the Bergedorf–Geesthacht line. Trains are to run at least every five minutes, on busy subway lines at rush hour as often as every 100 seconds, and be fully automated step by step. More staff for transit security, better cleaning, and more accessibility are also part of the plan. Besides free passes for apprentices, it plans discounted passes for seniors and a tap-in, tap-out system with automatic billing, without excluding people who pay cash. The CDU says climate neutrality cannot be reached without this expansion.

The CDU wants to make park-and-ride facilities free for HVV transit subscribers and create up to 10,000 additional spaces. This is meant to get commuters to switch to commuter rail and subway and reduce car traffic into the city.

With park-and-ride, you park your car and continue by train. The CDU wants this to be free for people with an HVV pass. There should be up to 10,000 new parking spaces. That way fewer cars should drive into the city.

Existing facilities are to be enlarged and new ones built in outer districts, along commuter routes, and at rail stops. The additional spaces are to be added step by step and according to demand. The CDU counts on cooperation with the surrounding region and also wants facilities outside the city limits. As an example, it names a large new facility at the Heimfeld highway exit with a link to the S-Bahn. Bike-and-ride offers are also meant to encourage the switch.

The CDU wants to relieve the overcrowded main station and connect southern Hamburg better by rail. In the long term, a ring line, the planned relief tunnel for the connecting railway, and a second Elbe crossing for trains are meant to achieve this.

Hamburg's main train station is very crowded. The CDU wants to take pressure off it. A new tunnel for commuter trains should come quickly. A second rail line across the Elbe river should also be built.

The platform notes that the main station is Germany's busiest and that much local transit runs through it. A ring line would reorganize the network in the long run and improve cross-town links between districts. The planned tunnel would take the S-Bahn traffic and free up capacity for long-distance and regional trains. The second Elbe crossing would also serve as a backup route during disruptions. The rail expansion is also justified by the climate targets.

The CDU wants to make sidewalks safer and give pedestrians' concerns more weight. It plans repair funds for the districts, better lighting, and full-time pedestrian commissioners.

The CDU wants safe sidewalks. Every district should get money for repairs. Dark paths should get more light. In every district, one person should look after pedestrians.

Each district is to receive its own fund for sidewalk repairs. Path inspectors are to carry out regular checks, and tripping hazards are to be removed quickly. A lighting initiative is meant to brighten dark squares, streets, and paths, especially in the darker months. In the platform's words, the district commissioners are meant to give pedestrians a lobby.

The CDU wants bike lanes physically separated from the roadway and wants to halt and review all bike lane planning now under way. E-scooters are to be checked more and get fixed parking zones; as a last resort, the party would consider a ban.

The CDU wants separate bike lanes next to the road. Bikes should not ride between cars and trucks. It wants to stop and check current bike lane plans. E-scooters should get stricter rules and fixed parking spots.

Bike lane planning is to be measured by the safety of children, teenagers, older people, and occasional riders. Planners are to get more discretion, for example to move bike traffic to another route where there is not enough room for everyone. Bike parking at stations and busy squares is to be monitored by video more often to reduce theft. On e-scooters, the platform points to rising accident numbers and drunk riders. Providers are to be required to penalize rule violations by technical means; if that is not enough, further steps up to a ban may follow.

The CDU wants to make more use of Hamburg's waterways for passenger and freight transport. The HADAG ferries are to run more often, and regular boat service is to return to the Alster.

Hamburg has a lot of water. The CDU wants more transport on the water. The ferries should run more often. Boats should also run regularly on the Alster lake again.

Modern vessels are to be bought for the whole ferry network as quickly as possible. In addition, the CDU will look into faster water taxis modeled on Rotterdam. The Alster boats are meant to take pressure off road traffic. For freight, the platform sees potential in autonomous container taxis on the Elbe and its side channels. Waterways are to get more weight in overall transport planning.

The CDU backs the airport near the city center and wants to make it more competitive by lowering the aviation tax and airport fees. At the same time, it wants to extend protection against aircraft noise.

The CDU wants to keep Hamburg's airport. Taxes and fees for flights should go down. That way more flights should leave from Hamburg again. The party also wants to protect neighbors better from aircraft noise.

According to the platform, the airport has lost many connections because of decisions by the federal government and the city government. The CDU supports new long-haul flights and sees the Airbus A321XLR as an opportunity for them. Aircraft noise protection zones are to grow, low-noise flight routes and runway rules are to be observed, and frequent delays punished more severely. Airlines are to be encouraged to use quieter planes. The party wants to support projects for synthetic kerosene made from the region's surplus wind power.

The CDU wants to promote alternative drive systems and new transport technologies. This includes more charging points for electric cars, a stronger power grid, and more on-demand, car-sharing, and bike-sharing services.

The CDU wants more charging stations for electric cars. For that, the power grid should get stronger. The outer districts should get more on-demand ride services. The party is open to new technology such as self-driving cars.

Expanding and modernizing the power grid is to get priority and be factored into roadworks that are planned anyway. Services such as hvv hop and MOIA are to be extended, especially in outlying areas, along with car-sharing zones and the StadtRAD bike-sharing system. The CDU sees opportunities in connecting vehicles and infrastructure and in autonomous driving, which it says could reduce congestion and improve safety. It is also open to solar roads, air taxis, and delivery drones.

The CDU wants to put Willy-Brandt-Straße in a tunnel. According to the platform, the multi-lane road separates Rathausmarkt from HafenCity; the party regards moving it underground as the most important project for a more attractive downtown.

Willy-Brandt-Straße is a big road in the middle of Hamburg. It cuts downtown off from HafenCity. The CDU wants to put the road in a tunnel. The area above would then be nicer to spend time in.

The platform points to other cities that already route major through roads underground. The CDU expects a more pleasant public space and further momentum for urban development. It sees the benefit mainly for future generations.